Just Another Dance
by wolfofsheep
Summary: Penny has to practice a dance and who better to help her than Sheldon...


_Another repost... LOVE THEM... LOoOoOoOove them!_

_Song by **Christina Perri: Lonely**_

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><p>Sheldon loved Thursday nights… he HAD hated the addition of Anything Can Happen Thursdays on every other Thursday, but it had become the most peaceful and contemplative moment and he reveled in it. He loved the quiet… it allowed his mind to scream as loud as it could with all the information that was crowding away up there. For a man who had the universe at his finger tips… allowing his mind to clear was a blessing.<p>

He tapped the closed marker against his cheek as he stared at the cluttered white board. Numbers, variables, and differentials flowed like a flooded creek within his mind, but all it did was just plummet off the edge like a waterfall. Nothing was connecting… Nothing prompted a 'Huzzah'… he was growing more and more frustrated. Silence brought clarity, but nothing was coming. He slams the marker into the metallic bar designed to hold it and moans a 'Drat'.

He goes to the refrigerator and grabs a bottle of water. He closes the door and heads towards the leather couch. As he twists the cap, his ears nearly wiggle as a whisper of a song disturbs the quiet. It was nearly 10pm and it caused him to wonder who in the universe would be playing their music that loud. It was fairly distant, possibly two flights up or down. Up would mean the roof… down would mean the crazy cat lady. He hated to use this cliché in his mind, but… curiosity killed the cat… he followed the faint melody outside the door. As he stepped out, he determined that the music was coming from the roof… 'Thank the Lord'. He reached into the bowl beside the door and took his keys. It was the music that made him lock the door and close it behind him; but it was his scientific curiosity that made him head for the stairs and climb them.

The closer he got to the roof's access door; the louder the song got. On the last two stairs, the song stopped suddenly and caused him to freeze. He swallowed, not knowing if he should run or stand completely still and hope they didn't see him. He heard a woman's voice growl in irritation and his eyebrows rise. He would know that irate exasperation from anywhere… He cleared the last two stairs in one long stride just as the piano of the song began again.

It was a sad beginning… the piano's chords mixed with the soft tones of the violins and made Sheldon's emotions sting from the beauty of it. He swallowed as he peeked through the large opening of the door from the thick brick keeping the door propped open. He didn't see anyone, at first, but he did see a fairly expensive Home-Stereo System for an iPod just sitting securely on a ledge. No wires, so it must have been battery powered. He slips through the small crack of the door as the words of the song rang out in a muffled echo…

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><p><em><strong>2a.m. where do I begin<strong>_

_**Crying off my face again**_

_**The silent sound of loneliness**_

_**Wants to follow me to bed**_

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><p>Penny, in a black skirt, tight white tank top, and no shoes, dances in a slow waltz by herself. Her bare feet are nimble but slightly clumsy. Her skirt flows and twists within the simple motions. Her golden tresses sweep around her shoulders like milky hay.<p>

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><p><em><strong>I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most<strong>_

_**I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well**_

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><p>When the song picks up in tempo, so does her grace. Sheldon is struck dumbfounded by the same thing that ensnared his roommate so long ago… her beauty.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Dancing slowly in an empty room<strong>_

_**Can the lonely take the place of you**_

_**I sing myself a quiet lullaby **_

_**Then you go and let the lonely in; To take my heart again**_

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><p>He took a step closer to the open roof and his dancing neighbor. She slows her moves and leans her body back; her hands in a position to where she would be being dipped by her partner. She lost her balance on the dip and she cursed… much like he had heard before. Her back still to him, he watched as she let out a sigh and turned towards the music. Sheldon braced himself as she turned… knowing it was coming… and he wasn't disappointed… Penny turned and got a sight of Sheldon and screamed bloody murder.<p>

Sheldon jumped back and flinched at the octave… it was nearly as loud as the music. After the initial shock of the scream, Penny raised her hands to cover her mouth. When she lowered them, she angrily stomped to the speakers and stopped the music. She turned and snapped at him as she walked towards him, "What the HELL are you doing; you damn WEIRDO!" It was more of an exclamation than a question, but Sheldon felt he needed to 'Stand His Ground', "I apologize… I heard a very distracting melody and I followed it up here. I did not know that you it was you or the fact that you were using the roof as some sort of 'Poor Man's Dance Studio'. Penny… you should really put on some shoes before you catch Tinea pedis."

Penny crossed her arms and looked confused.

Sheldon sighed, "Athletes Foot."

Penny rolled her eyes then shook her head, "Look… I appreciate you caring about the welfare of my feet, but I have a lot of practicing to do before my audition so…" She turns Sheldon and pushes him to the roof door, "… goodnight Sheldon."

Sheldon grabbed doorframe to pause momentum then turned to her. Sheldon had learned the elegantly sophisticated art of dancing at a very young age. Though he was mercilessly taunted for it; he still found himself dancing when he was alone. His favorite song to dance to was 'When I Fall In Love' by Nat 'King' Cole. He was told by his Memaw, _"You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back… no manuscript to store away…. no paintings to show on the walls and maybe hang in museums… no poems to be printed and sold… nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It makes you who you are… Moonpie. It'll take all your stress, pain, exhaustion, and tears and it will just leave… you."_

That left him believing that dance wasn't just some petty action… it was a discipline… it was combat. Two people; locked in a deadly battle of wits and coordination… and Penny was making a mockery of it! "Penny! You are in need of a partner."

Penny's brows met and then one arched up, "Wh-What?"

Sheldon stepped out of the doorframe and towards her, "I'm unaware of which part of that sentence you are having difficulties understanding. The act of dance is destined to be performed by two bodies. You can never truly master the congruent surge of the waltz without someone to distribute the effervescent flow of the dance… in other words, Penny; you are in need of a partner."

The two locked gazes… Earth's green against Ocean's blue… and Penny seemed to be at a loss of words. Sheldon grew impatient at the stagnation of the conversation and moved past her to stand in the center of the roof clearing. He spun to face her and snapped his body as if he were a soldier standing at attention then raised his hands in a motion for her to do the same.

Penny blinked a few times at him then shook her head. She moved to snag a folder from beside the speakers, "Sheldon… I thought you didn't dance." She tapped the bottom of the folder against her palm then gave him a serious look as she ignored his beckon for her to dance with him.

Sheldon furrowed his brows as he licked his lips, "I DO not dance, that does not mean I CAN not. Please, Penny, allow me to show you the proper…"

Penny cut him off as she stomped towards him, folder in hand, standing only a few feet away, "Sheldon! I know you know EVERYTHING, but this is not one of your boring science classes, ok? This is dance and it is scripted down to the tempo. What I need is music and lots of practice."

Sheldon took a huge step forward and snatched the folder out of her hand leaving the blonde with her mouth wide open. Sheldon flipped through it as if he'd already read it before. It was only a few lines on the dance itself. It was quite simple to him. It was an American 'Smooth' Style Waltz with a 30 measures per minute tempo. The dance was read like this: Box step, Box step, Right/Left Turn, Right Left quarter turn, Forward Progressive, Two Way Underarm Turn, Throwaway Oversway, 6-Count Underarm Turn, Butterfly, Woman spins in man's arms, and woman is dipped and draped loosely in man's grip.

It seemed far too short and far too easy and couldn't believe Penny was having such difficulty with it. The steps were now imprinted in his eidetic memory like footprint embedded in sand. He moves past Penny and sets the manuscript down then returns to her and stands close right in front of her. She stares at him all confused until he raises his left hand, "Practice it is, then. Shall we?"

Penny huffs a sigh knowing the man wouldn't give in then she turns to go turn on the music, but he stops her with his voice, "We do not need music. Dance is in your heart. Give me your hand, Penelope."

She gives him her hand and he pulls her in close. They avoid looking into each other's eyes as they both stand up tall. His right arm dips underneath her left arm to allow his enormously long hand to spread and palm her lower back. Their torsos touch as he leans his chin down and softly speak, "Alright now, the man always leads no matter how manly the woman's feet and hands are. Ready? Annnnddd… 1,2,3… 1,2,3…"

He leads and she follows. She hesitated at her inexperience, but eventually she found her pace. They both glided like leaves on a rushing river along the rooftop. The night's serenade of car alarms and dog barks tried to overpower Sheldon's chanting of the count but never got loud enough. A smile crept on both of their faces as Penny's laughs of joy began to become contagious. They spun, stepped, and turned over and over again until it was Penny's second nature… until they were nothing more than two energy currents flowing together in harmony. Then… they stopped.

He dipped her glorious form backwards; letting her hand go and left just his arm snaked around her back. Her body flexed and draped against his strong arm. They were both panting and smiling as they rested in their current positions. After a few moments, he leaned his body forward so their torsos were connected again and Penny arched her abdomen and craned her flexible body upward; instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her body up as he straightened himself and when her body and his were back to normal. They were nose to nose as their erratic breaths collide. They didn't move, blink, or speak; just basked in the each other's presence. Something sparked and sizzled within their glazed over eyes, and just as they both moved towards one another… the spark fluttered out and ran for cover.

They escaped from each other and tried to collect what sanity they had just lost from an unbridled instance. Sheldon cleared his throat and hopelessly scrambles to the door. He stops and regains himself before flattening out his top layer vintage t-shirt and spoke just to ease his nervousness, "… and that is the proper etiquette of the waltz. You… you were very satisfactory… all you will need to get your part is the proper partner… I am quite certain you will obtain this role with no problem…" He plants his feet and turns to her; his blush quite predominantly rampant upon his cheeks as he stutters, "G-G… Goodnight, Penny."

She smiles at him with the beauty of Pasadena's starry sky adding to her already comic allure and says, "Goodnight, Moonpie. You danced divinely…"

Sheldon's lip quivered in a hint of a smile before he pulls open the door and sings into the echoes of the stairwell, "Only Memaw calls me Moonpie…"


End file.
